Kariba Houseboat Safari – Day 5 & 6

March 15, 2009 | Posted by Safari Guide

Kariba Houseboat Trip Report – March 2009

Day 5 | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |

Thunderbolts & Lightning – Spurwing to Antelope Island
A massive thunderstorm, drove me from my bedroom under the stars to the cabin in the early hours of the morning and we later woke to some heavy winds and steady rain. We made the decision to put off our trip back to Antelope island until the wind dropped, not that it was a danger to the houseboat, but rather the small tender boat that we were towing that would have taken on water with the large swells. This gave me time to explore this section of Spurwing Island and I managed to get some photos of a hippo taking advantage of the sunless sky to spend some more time on land grazing. Then I spotted a group of about 6 small raptors, which I later identified as (Western) Redfooted Falcons using the strong winds to catch dragonflies. It was a fantastic sight and luckily I managed to get some photos of them using tree stumps as perches. Upon closer investigation, I found the discarded wings of the dragonflies around these stumps.

Once the wind calmed down we made our way back to the northern side of Antelope island, the 5 hour journey going without hitch, apart from right at the end when we were mooring, the gearbox of the boat seemed to loose all drive.

Day 6: Antelope Island to Kariba
We were unable to fix the gearbox overnight, but because Kariba is only 20 minutes away by speedboat we decided to go and get help, rather than call for help on the radio. Whilst help was on the way it gave me another opportunity to explore some of the other side of Antelope Island. I found some old foundations, and all that remains of what once was a tsetse fly control research centre. I think they used Antelope island because it is large enough to hold a permanent population of Buffalo, but small enough to be able accurately assess the results.

Birds: Antelope Island
Only new species from those previously listed are shown below:

• Pearl-spotted Owlet (heard not seen)
• White-Browed Sparrow-Weaver

Trip Report Menu
This post is part of a series of posts on a Lake Kariba Houseboat Trip in March 2009

• Day 1 – Harare to Kariba to Antelope Island
• Day 2 – Antelope Island to Palm Bay
• Day 3 – Palm Bay
• Day 4 – Palm Bay to Spurwing Island, Kariba
• Day 5 & Day 6 – Spurwing Island to Antelope Island to Kariba

For more Information Check out the Safari Holiday Guide to Lake Kariba Houseboats & Safaris

Kariba Photo Gallery
For more photos of this trip, check out my Kariba Wildlife Photographs.

Photographic Equipment Used
All the photos in this gallery were taken using the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Digital Camera. I also often used the Olympus TCON-17 1.7x Tele Conversion lens (TCON-17). For more information check out:

• The Best Digital Cameras for Safaris
• Telephoto Conversion Lenses for the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 & DMC-FZ18 Digital Cameras

Categories: Trip Report, Zimbabwe | Tags: Houseboat, Kariba, Safari, Trip Report, Zimbabwe | No Comments »